


Santiana

by Anniss



Series: Charmes Merfolk AU [1]
Category: Hades (Video Game 2018)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Merpeople, Drowning, Lighthouse keeper Charon, M/M, Pirate Hermes, Yeah im serious, almost
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-31
Updated: 2021-02-09
Packaged: 2021-03-11 00:19:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 8,347
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28446030
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Anniss/pseuds/Anniss
Summary: A collection of two one-shot ideas on how a Charmes merfolk AU could go, first chapter with Charon taking the role of mythical creature, and then switching the roles in the second chapter.
Relationships: Charon/Hermes (Hades Video Game)
Series: Charmes Merfolk AU [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2174295
Comments: 15
Kudos: 96





	1. Pay the Fare

**Author's Note:**

> hiiii (gayly) my fellow Professional Associates, thank you for feeding me, I felt it was time to repay you. I cranked this out in two days because this ship is in my brain like a pair of worms, and refuse to pay rent.

He carried his own brand of headstrongness with pride, refusing to let even the soundest eyeroll of his siblings slow him down. He was going to concede the point, however, that it did have its less savoury side effects. In this case it was his ability to get stuck in the stickiest situations, with only his hindsight (or Athena) to remind him that maybe this wasn’t the smartest course of action.

Athena wasn’t here, luckily none of his siblings had followed him here onto these waters, so it was just him and his poor crew doing their best to keep them afloat. Well, the ocean loved to remind him of its presence, angry sprays boarding the ship and attacking him just out of spite. He was drenched, flitting about and helping his crew, who were moving anything they could under deck and keeping each other on the boat.

If he wasn’t in such a dour mood, he’d laugh at his own misfortune, but it was time to focus. He could have his merry little moment when he’d ensured they would survive this. There’d be no scouting for folklore creatures before they could divert any of their focus from standing upright.

He’d run out the door with a stupid idea, a new flickering curiosity and a scale, matching no creature he’d ever laid eyes upon. Brilliant gold, refracting light in a million ways at the barest hint of light. If it wasn’t for the fact it was impossible to chip or crack, he’d think it was some masterful glasswork. Now it rested safely in a bag at his hip, strapped carefully and thoroughly to his belt. As the only current proof that he wasn’t just chasing his own tail, it wouldn’t do to lose it. He’d considered making it a necklace, but he never had the heart to hand it over to a jeweler to make it so.

Still, it was all that he had found, all he might ever find. The rumors he was running on didn’t paint the merfolk as sociable creatures. Perhaps they weren’t even aware of the raging storm, too preoccupied with their lives far down in murky depths. Not even getting as much as a gentle wave of motion, to make the seaweed dance. Well, if it was a hoax or a fool’s errand, neither would damn him. There may be a few “told you so’s”, but he was well enough off for one meaningless trip, even with a full crew behind him.

However the storm was far from over, and it wasn’t finished with him quite yet. It heaved and threw, and their boat that once seemed so large was dwarfed in the maw of the sea. The wood moaned, and the ship listed dangerously to the side, but the wave building over their heads was scariest of all. Hermes shouted for his men to grab onto anything, to brace themselves, as no tying themselves to a mast would help if they hung helplessly off the side to be beaten into a pulp. However his cried were deafened by the sky, joining into the madness by rending itself asunder with light. It’s booming thunder could only be deafened by the wave itself, washing over them. It rushed around him. It was all he could sense. It was terrifying, then humbling, larger than his mere life. He clung to the handrail, and belatedly realized that in his hurry to help everyone else, he still wasn’t tethered to the mast.

The divine justice for his constant inability to plan ahead reared her ugly head, and before the wave had passed it’s course, it wanted Hermes to come along. It picked up and hurled at him one of the only loose items left on the deck, and as it flew right for Hermes he managed to run through all stages of grief in a flash before the deceptively heavy barrel slammed into his shoulder and chest with little intent of stopping. The muscles in his arms screamed with effort, but his fingers failed him, slipping even as he dug into the waterlogged railing, and he was tossed overboard and pulled down.

That should have been his end, kicking desperately while fighting the urge to scream. He could swim, but he couldn’t fight the ocean’s fury. He looked where he hoped was up, and tried to go there, guided by the muted pulses of lightning. It was an endless battle, and as his very last bubbles of air slipped out of his nose, and was hurled sideways, he pondered as dying men do what he would do if he survived. Blithely, he knew he’d throw himself onto the next rowdy water with as much abandon as he had here, this was where he had envisioned his end whenever it was bound to happen. However, he did wish he could live just a little longer to hear what Athena’s latest big secret would end up revealing itself as. Oh well.

He didn’t quite reach the surface on his own, not for a lack of trying, but in a breathless delirium the elation he felt when something grabbed hold of him was downright inappropriate. He wouldn’t die alone, he’d be embraced by the latest predator feeding off of drowning pirates! His surety that he was absolutely fucked was why his brain didn’t even register when he breached the surface for a moment, but then his instincts kicked back in in a plea to live. He breathed deeply, uncaring that he had to cough it all out with seawater, and got another breath in before he noticed another wave curling over him and hiding him from the skies. He curled in on himself, preparing for the slam of water, but he was pulled back down before it could hit.

Back underwater, and with one more breath of life in him, Hermes could actually start freaking out appropriately about the claws currently digging into his chest, just below his shoulders. He looked down, and the claws were not recognizable as hands at first, but the thin, bony fingers not tearing him into meaty ribbons quickly made him realize that this was a benign creature. It had even allowed him to breathe. Despite it now holding his life within it’s terrifying and long claws, his damned curiosity had Hermes prodding at one of the fingers, only for it to shift away, as if stung. Only then did he look further, and down beyond his own helpless feet a dark cowl shifted and escaped down into darkness. His breath hitched, he held no scope for the true size of the beast, and honestly at this point he was just stalling turning around. He was terrified of what would greet him, but again his curiosity got the better of him. Craning his head to the side as far as it would go, what first caught his eye was a brilliant glint of gold, as the flashes of light from the skies reached them. On a shoulder unadorned by the otherwise nebulous cloak a golden pauldron greeted him, and his gaze wandered from it and to a bare collarbone, jutting out of pale grey skin. Just below it grew scales, large and rounded, and he gasped in recognition, reaching for the bag still at his hip. Immediately he grimaced in realization at his own absolute hubris, as he watched those fleeting bubbles of desperately valuable air drift away in the water. Okay, that one was his fault, if he drowned now that was on him.

The beast was far kinder than Hermes deserved, and seeing him lose his breath they traveled upwards again. The second breach lasted longer, there was no wave immediately pushing him back down, and he felt the grasp loosen, only for a moment, as it shifted. That gave him the opportunity to watch, as out of the water rose a creature beyond comprehension. It’s face was gaunt, because yes it did indeed have one, and after emerging two fins attached to the sides of it’s head flattened out and laid themselves around it’s head, like the brim of a hat, shielding them both from the skies’ harsh downpour. Those two he could notch somewhere into his mind as plausible, it was the eyes that truly stunned him. In deep sockets laid two mesmerizing eyes, entirely purple, glowing as they glanced down at him warily. He knew he was staring, was half-aware that he probably looked like a drenched idiot while he was at it, but he couldn’t help it. He had simply never seen anything like it, and maybe he never would again. It would be quite the sight to drown to, at least.

It was the being that broke eye contact first, surprisingly human in it’s gestures as it turned away from Hermes. If it had been human, Hermes would have guessed that he’d flustered it with his staring. He followed it’s line of sight and oh yeah! His ship! He was supposed to be on that ship, wasn’t he.

“I know we haven’t known each other for long, boss, but if you could be so kind as to take me back there” -he pointed at the ship in the distance- “that would be much appreciated!”

That made the being look back to him, squinting. Hermes finally noticed the creature’s mouth, a permanent snarl, exposing razor sharp teeth, with scar-like lines symmetrically spaced down their lips. Well, if they didn’t tear him apart with their claws…

None of what he imagined happened, Hermed stayed quite intact still, even as the creature opened their mouth. A purple liquid ran out, the same colour as their eyes, and it danced like oil on the water where it landed. Curiously, it seemed to glow, too. They let out a rattling groan, a deep sound that dug into his very bones, but no words. Well, that didn’t give Hermes an answer, but he could easily talk for the both of them.

“Look, I’ll even sweeten the deal, name anything, within reason of course, and I’ll give it to you. What sort of payment could tempt a creature such as yourself? Riches?”

He didn’t get further than that before he was pulled back under, the grip once again changing until he was now pressed against the creature. Unthinkingly, he threw his arms around broad shoulders, hanging on tight. Water rushed past, and he felt his arm gently tugged aside, so he did as he was told while still not letting go. Hanging on hadn’t seemed to be the creature’s issue, as he stayed clinging to their neck. Adventurously cracking open an eye against the current he saw a set of gills right in front of him, opening now that they were unhindered to exhale the same purple liquid he’d seen earlier. Here in its element it looked like a plume of smoke. He was mesmerized, and he let go with one arm just to touch it. The creature pulled him closer to compensate, while Hermes was far too busy playing with the dancing smoke passing through his fingers to notice. Rapidly it sifted through his fingers, then it caught in the crass currents and whirled far out of sight. It was beautiful.

He was let up to breathe, and the ship was far closer than before. He couldn’t believe it, he might actually survive this, with the help of the strangest creature he’d ever had the fortune of encountering. He hacked out a laugh, disbelieving of it all. He shouldn’t be surprised, truly, he did have a knack for ending up in the stickiest situations, after all. However, being held gently in the arms of a potential merfolk, beyond even the darkest artist’s creative vision was a new one. Not unwelcome, maybe a bit cold and stormy, but he kept being fascinated by every new thing he learned. It looked down at him, perhaps it was wondering if he’d lost his mind, but Hermes just gave his most charming smile in return. Another groan, gentler than the last, and Hermes realized they were going back under. He steeled himself, and took a deep breath.

One more stretch of diving under the temperamental waves, and then when they emerged they were so close to the ship Hermes reached out to feel the grit of wood under his palm. It didn’t last, the waves carrying the ship up and him down, and his saviour pulled them away before the stern of the ship could do good on it’s threat and crack them open under its weight.

“Over there, I can climb up over there,” Hermes urged, pointing towards starboard where he knew there were wooden handles in the ship’s side intended as a ladder. The merfolk obliged, gliding effortlessly despite the roiling water. Hermes snuck one last look backwards, trying to estimate just how large the creature was. The cape had an end, and beneath it he thought he could see a dark tail, breaking over the waves just long enough for him to see, before it slipped back under. Okay, he was no longer uncertain, now he knew he had managed to stumble across his treasure entirely on accident. He’d even managed to owe it his life, in an absolutely stunning display of his usual hubris.

The creature hefted him upwards, displaying a strength that told Hermes exactly how helpless he’d been in their grasp. He scrambled to grasp at the ladder, infinitely glad just this once that it was a permanent fixture and not just rope and planks. A security issue when just about anyone could scramble up the ship’s side, but exactly what he needed at this moment. As he managed to get a solid grip, he felt its grasp travel downwards, pausing at his hip. A sharp tug, almost making him topple back out into the water, but he held on bravely. When the hands left him, he climbed a few steps then turned, looking back down into the sea below. The creature had torn off the pouch at his hip, and gently picked the scale out of its bag. The expression it laid upon Hermes was almost accusatory, the angriest reaction he had gotten out of it so far, and all he could do in response was smile cheekily.

“Well, I promised payment, didn’t I? A golden coin for your troubles, does that sate you?”

It didn’t respond, but Hermes could swear he saw it roll its eyes.

“Well, it is yours, isn’t it? Fair of me to give it back, at the very least,” he pressed on, despite knowing the smarter option was to escape back onto the ship before it could change its mind and actually drown him. This was what he had come here for, and he’d gladly make a fool of himself before he let them slip away.

The sea then rose, quickly it came back up to cling to Hermes’ thighs, and his knuckles turned white with the effort to keep him there. As the sea rose to meet him, so did his rescuer, their eyes on equal height and coming closer. Hermes didn’t flinch, didn’t pull back, as a cold hand came to rest at him clavicle. He was enthralled, forgetting to breathe. If he wasn’t preoccupied grasping onto the ship for dear life, maybe he’d fall to the urge of reaching out into the white curls. Perhaps his brain had been scrambled down there in the depths, what would Aphrodite say if she knew what his thoughts were doing? Laugh, probably.

In his mild panic at possible oxygen deprivation, he didn’t realize the being’s intentions before it was too late. In a slow movement that really shouldn’t have caught him off guard, it grasped his scarf. As the wave pulled away, taking them down too, Hermes felt the tug. Then he had to helplessly watch the bright orange of his scarf fall into the water, and be gathered into clawed hands.

“Hey!” he yelped, blinking incredulous at the theft. “That was a gift! You better return it!”

He didn’t know, but with the crinkle of its eyes, and the raspy coughs, Hermes could swear it was laughing at him! He didn’t have time for anything but a few indignant sputters, then it finally dove back under the waters, throwing itself backwards. Languidly, in no hurry to be gone, the being of legends showed Hermes exactly how long they were. His mouth felt dry, as ribbon after ribbon of deep purple tipped with bioluminescense floated past. Finally a cascade of deep purple fins, wrapped around each other and making a trail, breached the water at the end of a powerful tail, spraying him in one last mist of water, before it too disappeared, taking the myth with it. Hermes wouldn’t be surprised it it was longer than his entire ship, to be perfectly honest.

“Captain! There you are!” came a cry above him, and Hermes looked up to meet the relieved face of his first mate. He didn’t seem terrified at all, had he not seen…? Well, all the better for it. This could be his secret.

He had come here to find a treasure more valuable than anything else, but now that he’d found it he felt remiss to part with it. It wasn’t nice to keep secrets, but just this once Hermes knew there was nothing worth prying his lips open.

As he clambered back up, the final steps assisted as he was grabbed by the scruff and hauled onto the ship, he felt the blaze of a new plan forming in his mind. He’d need to talk to Athena, know what it was she was planning, then he simply had to meet them again. The myth was real, and he was a shark trailing the scent of blood. Well, he stood up after a brief rest on deck to collect himself, first he had to act the part of captain and get them through this storm, or there would be no chance at a second meeting.


	2. Gillnetting

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi welcome to part two where I've flipped the AU over and in doing so made something entirely different from the first chapter, hope yall enjoy lighthouse keeper Charon <3

The weather outside was perfect. Clouds slathering the scenery in a lovely, oppressive shade of grey, and teasing those below them with the threat of rain. Truly, it was Charon's favourite weather. It didn't make outside very fun but considering the lack of neighbours except the fish and an occasional seal lounging on his shores, it wasn't much of a loss. He had a great view of the scenery from where he sat, behind a window. 

It was growing dimmer, however, and he had his duties to attend to. Ensuring the lamp’s function was absolutely critical, without it no seafarer would dare venture on these waters. One couldn’t have that; how else would his lovely boss keep up his trading without the traders themselves? Therefore the tower Styx and her keeper were never far from each other.

With a sigh he put down the last lukewarm dregs of coffee and rose from his seat. His shift was about to begin, and he dared to claim to be quite the diligent worker. Moving towards the door of his own private lodgings he lifted his hat off the wall and planted it upon his head. That and his long, dark jacket and he should be protected from the worst of the elements, even any rain hurled in his direction. Oh, and his rubber boots, of course.

The weather was no different once he immersed himself in it, kept at bay by his clothes. The wind attempted to toy with his hair, but besides some loose strands in the front a tie kept it at his nape. Gravel crunched beneath his boots as he walked the short path to his destination, gaze trailing up and up and up to the top, curtained windows waiting for their lone keeper to breathe light into a building once more.

The Styx’ Lighthouse. Watching over its waters to lead its passengers safely to shore. A welcome sight there, alone on this craggy outcrop in the ocean. No one would sink to the ocean floor as long as Charon was there to fulfil his duty, leading the seafarers where their duties and their lust for gold took them. Then, to ensure this safety, he unlatched the door and started the climb.

To reach to the ends of the horizon sounded like a daunting task, but truly it wasn’t that many steps to a staircase. Maybe Charon was a little biased, however, he’d gone up these staircases again and again. He remembered his little brothers, seeming so awestruck at the bottom, and so winded at the top, but then again they’d been half his height so that could have counted for something. However, his mind supplied to counter that, little Zagreus had run up them all and still had the energy for yelling in excitement about everything, then running around the gallery a few times to take in the view. Whatever the truth of these stairs may be, Charon knew he was not running them.

He passed the door to the gallery, and climbed those final few steps, pushing open the hatch and climbing into the lantern room. Very little could be seen, with the lights off and curtains drawn, but he’d be able to go through every step of the process blind. The curtains were pulled back, the remnants of sunlight no longer a danger of relighting the lamp or discolouring the lenses. Looking over the lenses and lamp revealed them as pristine as he’d left them that morning, buffed and shined and without a scratch. Then to fuel and trimming the wick. By the time the weights were ready to start their descent to help the mechanism with spinning the light, the sun had truly set, and the wick was lighted. His shift had started, and he would dutifully wait until the sun rose again in the morning. 

He wasn’t to leave her the first half hour, just to ensure she kept going strong, but by the twenty fifth minute he snuck down and to the gallery, the open platform going all the way around the lighthouse. His own personal balcony, and where he indulged in one of his vices. With a flick of his wrist the lighter opened with a metal click, and the cigarette left its box and rested at his lips. With a flame that dwarfed his previous one, he lit up and took a deep breath. Calm, now it had truly fallen over him. For as long as it felt like sticking around, anyhow.

His cigarette didn’t last for long, and with one long exhale of grey he stumped it on the metal railing. Now it was just him, as always. The view was what it always was, light swiping far, far out and along the sour waves. Land was behind him, where the light was made to not shine, far back behind his isle. As dusk encroached, houses would light up and become a glittering memory. He didn’t look towards it much, his duties kept him looking ahead. Were one unfortunate enough to have their bow shredded, he would be there to attempt rescue. 

Still, with no ships close enough to be within his realm of worry yet, his gaze dipped upon his own shores. The seabirds he grudgingly shared common ground with were shrieking their hearts out as they tended to do, but he pondered if one of them had hauled in a real catch. The cries seemed unwilling to hush, and if it was a bird stuck in tossed fishing nets he’d consider helping it out, but it didn’t seem like the desperate cries of a single bird. A seal deciding to doze off a little too close for comfort to nesting grounds, then? The seals seemed to hold even less respect for the birds than Charon himself, but there was no criminal orb of blubber to be spotted either. Shame.

However, it was when the light grazed the beach that he spotted it. His head turned, and he squinted towards where he swore he’d just seen a glint of gold. There, right behind a large rock on one of the smaller islands further away, he saw a massive tangle of nets stretching out from the ocean and resulting in somewhere behind the rock. He strained to see, the lighthouse’s flame no longer lighting the spot up for him, but the net seemed to be moving. Perhaps there was a seal on the beach after all? If it was caught on that massive mess, Charon would probably need to lend a hand before it could swim free again. The first half hour of his watch had passed, he’d just have to give the light a last once over, and then he should hurry, before it cast itself back into the open seas where even Charon’s admittedly long arms couldn’t reach. Lighter and box of cigarettes went back into his pocket, and back inside he went.

***

Fuck, fuck, fuck! Curse humans and curse their death traps! Most of all curse his stupid brain for ever thinking being in waters with the humans would be fun! He wasn’t having any fun at all, in fact Hermes could already place today on his top ten list of worst days, somewhere above being born and below being told he _shouldn’t_ have been born by his lovely stepmom.

He could almost hear his uncle’s voice clear in his head, warning him about nets and such, how they were excellent to pick snacks from, but a pain to remove once they found their way to snare and snag. Truly, they were a pain! More than his uncle had let on, as they seemed impossible to tear, his hands and fingers sore with the exertion, and yet he’d only barely scratched the beginning of lines and loops. He’d bitten through what he could reach, disgusting though it might taste, but he lacked the claws featured more prominently on some of his other siblings. Therefore, he was left to try and rip apart what he could, damned be his hands. 

He’d swam fast, fast as any rip current, which was how he found himself in this mess to begin with. It was something he prided himself on, capable of swimming faster and further than anyone else, last thing they’d see would be a glint of gold before he left them behind in a whirl of water. However, great speeds brought terrible braking, and it was too late to stop once he recognized what lay ahead of him, a dancing shimmer in the water. Remnants that had been thrown overboard after being used to their fullest, now floating, patchy and dangerous, where any old fish could get trapped before suffocating. Today it had been Hermes’ turn.

Instead of slamming headfirst into it, he’d seen a hole in the net, seemingly large enough for him to swim through, and steered himself towards it. It had seemed like such a brilliant move, as he sailed smoothly through the net, but then there had been more behind it, and more and more threads and ripped nets surrounding him, as with a kick of his tail he felt something snag on his tailfins and stay there. Now, trapped and with a little bit of panicked adrenaline in his system, Hermes had first tried rounding back the way he came, but his speed and the snag had pulled his entry shut like the drawstrings of a bag. Simultaneously, with the movement a loop came over his head and nets came into his field of vision from both sides, wrapping around after he crashed into them so carelessly. It shouldn’t have been as horrible as it was, they were merely string, small and inconspicuous. So, when he grasped for it, and tried to tear himself loose, it should have been easy. He wasn’t like the fish he saw floating past, stiff and trapped, thread digging into gills and eyes milky and rotting. Oh god, he needed to get out of there, lest it was his side burst open with pinbone ribs exposed for the snacking of those who were too small to get caught. For once he wished he was even smaller. 

He had few thoughts but to escape being dragged to the bottom of the ocean from the new weight, hastily pushing himself up and breaching the surface. It was disorienting, but even as a wave splashed him in the face, he caught sight of land. What seemed like human architecture was worrying, but he was willing to risk it today. It was just one building on one little island. Probably. He’d just need somewhere to sit until he could get it all off, and the sky above was going dark. That should cover him.

He hadn’t quite considered the possibility of the building blazing with light, a beam shooting out and roaming the waters like a watchful predator. He threw himself back under the water, wild panic spiking to match the glare of light. However, there were no sirens, nor boats, nothing came for him despite the beacon, and he let himself breathe again, slowly. Then, he trekked for the shores, and when the beam had passed overhead, he peeked ever so slightly above the surface just to see where he should sequester himself.

He found his spot, dragging both himself and his captor over the wet sand. Gravel in the sand dug into his softer stomach, annoying him further until a low growl escaped him involuntarily. Was he not at danger of being found he’d be screaming expletives, perfectly willing to be the worst possible siren there was. Once he was completely hidden from the roving light he rolled around and sat up, ready to really get a hold of it. It was… A lot. Hermes really had managed to find himself a tangle, and make it look like he’d decided to roll around in it for a bit too. Luckily it was just thread, so despite how it tore into his palms and fingers, it still snapped under his grip. He had one hell of a job in front of him, though.

He got into it, had even gotten the largest bits of net around his abdomen off. Still, he looked at the entwined mess of his tail and his fins, and he hadn’t quite yet gotten a good grip to tear that around his head, neck and shoulders, but he’d figure it out.

Or he thought he would, but then there was a splash in the water louder than the other waves, and he looked up to look a human directly in the eyes. They stared at each other, the human seemingly just as startled as himself, before Hermes raised his hackles, and growled at him. He had half a mind to jump into the water and swim far away, finding some other spot, or just waiting until this one left, but then he’d have to drag himself in before they could get hold of him or the net. He’d rather just let them stare, and then bite their fingers off if they got too close.

Then the human stood up and stepped off the boat, right into the water, and Hermes started scooting away, eyes flickering to the ocean in front of him now with serious consideration.

Hermes, so quick he thought himself unpinnable, had been caught by the quiet and the invisible. Blind on the fronts he thought he had covered, as another one of pride’s victims.

***

Seeing the being in front of him, a beautiful creature covered in glittering gold and blazing oranges, was so far out of Charon’s wildest imagination that he let the oars drop into the ocean with an audible splash. That got its attentions, and they stared at each other before it moved on to the reasonable action of growling at the complete stranger Charon was in this situation. 

It was also so completely wrapped up in the nets and trash of the ocean that Charon was afraid of what would happen to it were it to bolt with all of it still on, especially those he saw around its neck creeping scarily close to what he assumed to be gills. He stood up, having pushed the boat close enough to shore that the water wouldn’t go higher than his boots, but it seemed like a bad idea. As he stepped into the water and took the thread from the front of the boat in hand, the merman, and he was fairly confident in calling it so, started moving away from him and looking towards the water. He cursed his inability to speak and raised his hands nonthreateningly in an attempt at being placating. It worked, temporarily, they stopped moving, and instead raised an eyebrow at him.

“You stay right there or I’m taking you down to the bottom of the ocean with me, got it?”

Charon blinked. Huh, so it could talk, and it talked the same language as him. That was certainly unexpected. He tilted his head, but didn’t move a step closer, as he was asked.

“Wait, you understood that?”

Charon nodded.

“Huh. Strange. I’ve never had a chat with one of you before, for obvious reasons. You the quiet type?”

Charon motioned vaguely at his throat, hoping they could make a guess from his gesticulations.

“Ah, can’t talk then?”

Charon nodded again.

“Well, that’s no problem, I can talk for the both of us, been told I’m fairly good at that. Still, you stay right there until I’ve gotten all this,” he motioned to the nets, “off of me.”

Charon did as he was told, drifting between watching the merman, the horizon, and turning back to keep an eye on his tower. Had he found nearly anything else he suspect he would almost be back up there, but here he was, and he wasn’t going back until they were free. 

When he shifted his weight to stand more comfortably, their eyes snapped back to him, but he was keeping his end of the bargain, and they returned to their work.

Still, it didn’t seem to go overly well, and when they started cursing under their breath, and shaking their hands as though burnt, Charon decided he should offer some aid again. He pulled his knife out of his pocket and unsheathed it. The merman made a sound akin to the gulls circling them.

“No! None of that, I will bite!” he screeched, and Charon just rolled his eyes, pointing the sheath towards his own neck, arms and down at his feet, where they had yet to get off any of the rope, although Charon had seen them make a go at it. No, he wasn’t going to try and stab them with a little gutting knife, considering they were a little bigger than his usual catch and Charon didn’t feel like being drowned at the moment.

“All right, throw it here then,” they said, making grabby hands towards him, making Charon squint. He shook his head in response, not willing to lose his knife. If he was the merman he’d take the knife with him, and Charon wasn’t swimming in knives. Nor could he guarantee that they wouldn’t feel like stabbing him in return for his efforts. Less likely, but nevertheless. 

“Smart,” they said with a pout, and kept staring at Charon. He got the feeling they were attempting the same thing his younger brothers would try when he denied them anything, but the two of them were far, far more powerful on that front. Charon simply raised an eyebrow, and the merman turned his look to the ropes. He seemed to mull it over for a bit, before setting his shoulders, having come to some sort of internal conclusion. 

“All right, come over here then! However, I’m warning you, if you do anything untoward,” and they waggled a finger at Charon, making the lightkeeper grimace. Charon spied a smirk forming and immediately being tampered down and started making his way over, decidedly not planning anything _untoward_. 

When he hit solid ground he didn’t immediately rush over, instead he pulled his boat onto land, weighing the rope down with a large rock just in case. If he got stranded out here, the swim back would be a few degrees lower than his preferred water temperature. It was first when that was done that he turned to them, and they peered at each other with a mutual wariness. He kept his pace calm, footprints washed out by the waves almost as fast as they were made.

“Okay, I get it, nonthreatening and all. I don’t got all day, so hurry up,” they said, having lost their apparently quite small patience with him, and he upped his pace as requested. 

When he was close enough, while still keeping some space, he kneeled down. With knees immediately soaked, he reached out, looking to them for approval before closing the last gap. They squinted at him, then nodded curtly.

Charon started by grasping the ropes around their bicep. It was thicker ropes, connected to the rest of the ghost nets, and much harder to simply tear through. Luckily it wasn’t sitting so tight he couldn’t sneak his knife under, making sure not to nick them with the movement. One hand on the rope, and another moving the knife, he only needed to slice a few times before it split in two and fell off them and to the sand. The net it connected to was much smaller thread, and he nicked it open and away quickly, freeing the whole arm. He quietly thanked himself for remembering to sharpen it not too long ago, not sure how long he dared stretch their patience with a dull knife.

“Well, if we’ve gotten this far, I think it’s time we at least exchange names. I’m Hermes, and you?” he asked, and Charon mulled over how exactly to exchange it. He let go of their lower arm and looked to the sand. Writing his own name upside down wasn’t too much of a challenge, and it seemed like Hermes had no problem reading it either.

“Charon?”

He shrugged, then wrote a K above the first two letters.

“Oh, Charon?”

He nodded.

“All right, nice to meet you Charon, now here.”

Charon was given the other arm, wrapped in threads knotted together in ways that seemed impossible to occur by happenstance, but here they were. He dutifully got to work, moving downwards until he held Hermes’ wrist gingerly, tilting his hand so he could access the threads bunching together there. 

When he moved to hold his hand, having not gotten all the threads at once, Hermes hissed, and Charon immediately let go, looking up at him from his crouched position to judge the likelihood of him losing all his fingers. Curiously, Hermes was looking away from him. 

“Bit sore from tearing the ropes earlier there boss, don’t mind that, it’s fine,” he said tersely, and Charon was inclined to take his word for it. Shrugging it off, he freed Hermes of the last few ropes, looking for his next target. 

He prodded Hermes on the shoulder, prompting him to finally look over at him, and Charon pointed to his tail. A long, powerful thing covered entirely in the same scales smattered across his upper body, and still covered in nets closer to the end. Especially the two sets of translucent fins before the tailfin seemed to be in a dire situation, so he pointed to them. Hermes followed Charon’s point to his own tail, and only then seemed to realise it was still wrapped up.

“Oh yeah! Here you go.”

And with a grand sweep Hermes lifted his tail, and promptly deposited most of it on Charon’s lap. Including sand. Charon just glanced over at him tiredly, Hermes in return giving him his toothiest grin. Sigh, well, time to get to work. 

When he moved from the tail itself, having freed it, to the fins, Hermes called out to him.

“Hey, careful with those. It’s a pain in the ass to heal them if they tear,” he said, and Charon nodded, making sure the knife was far away from anything before gently trying the nets. Some he could simply pull off, before others, tangled in the first ones, hefted and refused to budge. Well, it was a good attempt.

While he worked, he shifted so he sat more comfortably, his poor knees screaming at him. Hermes shifted too, turning more towards Charon and leaning backwards on his arms, watching him work. Even while taking care not to do any harm, Charon managed to finish quick enough. Once all four fins were free, he pushed Hermes off, earning a disgruntled noise from the other, then beckoned for the tailfin. Hermes got the picture and lifted it to him with much less fervour than last time. Charon wanted to stare at the flaring tailfin, a burst of golden tulle, or a bouquet of translucent feathers, but he had to defend his status as a diligent worker so there was no time to tarry. 

“You’re a strange sort, you know?” Hermes said, breaking their brief stint of companionable silence. Charon didn’t respond, but that didn’t stop Hermes.

“I mean the net is an excellent way of keeping me tied up all the way to the fish market, or wherever you’d feel inclined to sell my innards for coin.”

Charon stared at him sourly. There would be no selling of innards, and he hoped his look could convey that to Hermes. The merman just laughed at him.

“Why, such a dour look has never felt more comforting! It’s almost as though you’re not doing this for profit! Very noble of you, I must say.”

Charon took a moment to write in the sand. Chatty seal, he wrote. Hermes was the chattiest thing with sharp teeth he’d ever had the misfortune of saving from fishermen’s littering. Hermes gasped, and swatted his bicep.

“I am not a seal; how dare you compare me to those menaces! I only have fur on top of my head, thank you, and I am far more of a professional than any of those-”

He paused his tirade abruptly, taking a moment to look at Charon, who was back to working on his tail without looking at Hermes. 

“Are you laughing at me??”

Oh no, under no circumstance, but if he was smiling it was surely just his old scars cramping, despite them never having done that before. Hermes swatted him again, and Charon covered the bottom half of his face with a hand, as though thinking very intensely about his next move.

Hermes gave him an indignant snort and grumbled something. Charon got back to work, having schooled his face back into normalcy. 

When that was done and said, tail free, there was really only one spot left. His head and neck. Well, getting the knife there would be one hell of a trust exercise, but hopefully Charon had managed to prove his intention to help enough at this point. Well, it was only one way to check.

Another gentle prod at the shoulder, another look from Hermes. Charon gestured towards his own temple, where what seemed to be fins were trapped to the other’s head. There was a squint and a pause, but Charon wouldn’t have to plead his case. With a reluctant lean forward, Charon was given access. He didn’t start with the knife, fearing once again the slightest slip. It paid off this time as all he had to do was untie a stubborn cluster of various thread, then it fell away in his hands. Left in his grasp was the fin, and in a gentle movement he slowly unfolded it. It followed, allowing him to marvel at the sight. He had held wings in his sights before, but this far outshined any gull or dove, and was all the more precious for how close he was allowed it.

A cough broke him out of his revelry, and he let go, feeling embarrassed for having overstayed his welcome so gravely.

“I have one more, on the other side, if you don’t mind,” Hermes noted, tone righteously exasperated. Charon abided, tilting Hermes’ head to the side with a finger on his chin.

When they were both free, they stretched in unison with Hermes, before he seemed to realize his own last trappings with the movement. Now it was Hermes’ turn to motion towards himself, looking at Charon expectantly as he pointed firmly to the ropes. Charon nodded, message gotten loud and clear, but he still hesitated. Hand barely touching the thickest rope, not Hermes himself. It wasn’t taken very well. 

“Come on! Time’s a wastin like this!” Hermes chirped, the look in his eyes intense and bordering on downright malicious. It certainly helped speed Charon along. 

He had to lean in, shuffling to get closer, as this was where the ropes had seemed to want to cling on tight. It was painfully meticulous, lifting one hoop at a time, leading the blade under it, and then nicking it open. All the while he held it away from what he still assumed to be gills. They were closed tight, probably not too keen on the sour winds up here, but he wasn’t taking any chances. 

Charon had also pushed his hat back when he had to get close, sparing Hermes from having his eyes poked out by the brim, letting it hang around his neck by its rope instead. A helpful thing for when the winds were in the mood for pickpocketing him of anything it could get a hold of. Annoyingly, the hair that refused to sit politely in his ponytail came to the fore, hanging in front of his face while his hands were both tied. He got to blow it away a few times, before Hermes took pity on him, and softly pushed it back behind his ear. He spared Charon’s soft, pink skin of being torn to ribbons by the claw that instead simply scraped where it went, and could he voice such he’d give Hermes his thanks. Instead, he would show his thanks by getting this all off.

There. With a final snap of nets cut, Charon slung the offending garbage away from Hermes. Hermes was free now. He leaned back, appreciating his handiwork. Hermes seemed to have gotten the picture too, gingerly feeling for any remains. He wouldn’t find any, Charon knew.

“Gee, thanks boss, you’ve been a life saver,” he said, as Charon stood up and started brushing the sand off. It was easier said than done, the seawater giving it an annoying quality of stickiness. Ah well, it would fall off as it dried.

“Now, what do you want in return?”

Charon tilted his head at Hermes.

“Come on, name a price, or write one. Point if you prefer that!” he said, with a tinge of what even Charon could pick up on as forced optimism.

Charon stared at him for a solid moment, unamused, and then put his hat back on before turning to fetch his boat. 

“Giving some thought to it then?” he heard from behind him, and he wondered why Hermes hadn’t already scampered off. He was free to do so. He put his knife back in its sheath, and removed the rock from the boat’s rope, all important and consuming actions that would give Hermes plenty of opportunities to dive beneath the next wave and disappear. Hermes didn’t get the hint.

“Surely you can think of something?”

Charon turned to him as he heard the first tap of water hit the brim of his hat. The storm had decided to allow Charon its presence today, then. He locked eyes with Hermes, sitting in his nest of garbage, and shook his head.

“Really? Nothing?”

Charon nodded.

The most befuddling part was that Hermes did _not_ seem pleased with that, as though he was hoping Charon would be the type to wring a poor soul in need out of their values for the simplest of altruism. 

“All right, I’ll pick something out for you!”

Charon sighed, and started pushing his boat out into the water. Finally, Hermes seemed to get a clue, and scooted himself back towards the water too. 

When Charon had sat down in the water and pushed the oars against the sand until they could no longer reach it, he looked for Hermes. Playing with the novelty of one last glance at today’s little impossibility, he was content with being unable to see Hermes anywhere. That’s when the merman decided to prove him wrong by popping out of the water, grasping onto the side of his boat in such a way that Charon had to lean considerably away in fear of tipping. 

“Well boss, it’s been nice meeting you, even if you’re quite the strange fellow, going around saving lives for free and all that.”

Charon tried to convey annoyance. It bounced right off.

“All right, I’ll be seeing you around then! Don’t move too far inland, in fact stay right here in that little blazing tower of yours. Fits me quite perfectly. Accessible by water on all sides, and all that.”

Charon contemplated picking the oar out of the rowlock, and bopping Hermes over the head with it so he’d get a clue. He decided instead on simply pushing Hermes back into the water by hand, which worked better than expected, even with Hermes laughing at him all the way down.

He got about two seconds of blessed peace, before a golden tail broke the surface and proved Charon’s earlier praises of it wrong by thoroughly splashing him. He glared at the golden shadow in the water jetting away, and he could imagine the laughter that followed it. Well. He was wearing a jacket. 

He had a shift to get back to, so Charon got to rowing. Unbidden he pondered what sort of payment Hermes thought would fit him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Genuinely this side of the AU ended up much more entertaining and idea-rich to me than expected, so perhaps I'll expand on this one? We'll see! Thanks for reading!


End file.
